Saturday, September 23, 2017 03:30 PM (ET)

South Carolina avoids upset with freshman's late FG

The Sports Xchange
Sep 23, 2017

Freshman Parker White kicked his first career field goal -- a 31-yarder with four seconds left -- as South Carolina erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat upset-minded Louisiana Tech 17-16 on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

Jonathan Barnes kicked a 25-yard field goal with 55 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead.

Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley scrambled for 24 yards on third-and-10 on the ensuing possession and connected with wide receiver Bryan Edwards for 41 yards on the next play to set the stage for White, who missed his previous four kicks this season.

Running back Ty'Son Williams gained 95 yards on 13 carries, including a 35-yard touchdown run with 4:52 left to give South Carolina (3-1) a 14-13 lead. Bentley was 22 of 34 for 295 yards with an interception and a scoring pass to freshman wide receiver OrTre Smith with 11:06 remaining.

Edwards caught six passes for 122 yards.

Bulldogs quarterback J'Mar Smith was 23 of 33 for 281 yards with a touchdown and an interception as Louisiana Tech (2-2) fell to 8-76-2 all-time versus the SEC. Wide receiver Teddy Veal caught 10 passes for 110 yards and a score for the Bulldogs.

Louisiana Tech led 6-0 at halftime on a pair of field goals by Barnes -- the second being a season-long 52-yarder with 5:23 left in the second quarter, four plays after junior cornerback Aaron Roberson intercepted Bentley.

White missed both attempts in the first half -- a 34-yarder in the first quarter and a 46-yard try 48 seconds before intermission. White missed from 52 and 54 yards against Kentucky last week.

The Bulldogs took a 13-0 lead when Smith's 3-yard touchdown pass to Veal, who lost his helmet as he crossed the goal line, capped the opening drive of the second half. Five plays later, Bulldogs defensive tackle Deldrick Canty recovered a fumble by Williams.

The Gamecocks got on the board when OrTre Smith caught a pass over the middle, bounced off a hit from two defenders and continued to the end zone for a 28-yard score.
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